Hey, history lovers. I'm Mike Rosenwald with Retropod, a show about the past, rediscovered.

In April of 2018, Senator Tammy Duckworth gave birth to her second child, a little girl named Miley.

Now, this doesn't sound particularly noteworthy.

I mean, thousands of babies are born every day, right?

But this was no ordinary baby.

This was history.

Duckworth became the first U.S. senator to give birth while serving in office.

The U.S. Senate is obviously a smaller legislative body than the House of Representatives.

But even when you include the House, only 10 women ever have given birth while serving in Congress.

That's why it's still seen as a barrier-breaking act.

Just like it was in 1973, when Congress welcomed its first baby, 60 years after it welcomed

its first woman.

The woman who first gave birth to a congressional baby was no stranger to breaking barriers.

Her name was Yvonne Burke, and she was the first black woman elected to the House from California.

Burke made her mark quickly as a freshman on Capitol Hill. She earned a seat on the House Appropriations

Committee, a coveted role for a new

representative. She would go on during her time in office to advocate tirelessly for women and

minorities. But Burke soon became known for overcoming obstacles in another way. When she was almost 40 years old, she got pregnant.

And at that time, no one had ever gotten pregnant or given birth while serving in Congress.

The Los Angeles Times was the first report on her pregnancy.

When they pointed out to her that she was the first member of Congress to become pregnant

while in office, Burke laughed laughed and she said, quote, it's a dubious honor. Frankly, that

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